South Africa: Minister Malatsi's Action On SABC Bill Unconstitutional and Violates Parliament

21 December 2024
Parliament of South Africa (Cape Town)
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Note to editors: This media statement replaces the one issued earlier, which contained some regrettable errors.

The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, Ms Khusela Sangoni Diko, has unequivocally condemned Minister Solly Malatsi's challenge on the Speaker of the National Assembly over the withdrawal of the SABC Bill from Parliament as reported by the Sunday Times on 22 December 2024.

Ms Diko is of the view that this action is not only unwarranted in its spirited pursuit to unilaterally withdraw the Bill but is also unconstitutional.

The committee has never accepted the withdrawal of the Bill by the Minister, it has instead sought clarity from the Executive on the Minister's authority for the unilateral withdrawal of the Bill before Parliament. It bears repeating that Bills before Parliament from the Executive do not belong to individual Ministers but to the Cabinet as a whole.

Minister Malatsi's attempts to dismiss constitutional procedure as mere "convention" or a "gentlemen's agreement" is not just incorrect--it is a dangerous misrepresentation of the law. The Constitution, to which all members of the Cabinet are bound, explicitly states in section 85(2) that Executive authority is vested in the President who exercises such authority together with other members of Cabinet to, amongst others, prepare and initiate legislation.

As such, no single Minister, including Minister Malatsi, has today or ever had the authority or power to unilaterally introduce or withdraw Bills in Parliament without the consent of the Cabinet. The Rules of the National Assembly do not take precedence over the Constitution.

The necessary clarification and corrective instruction provided to the Minister by the Deputy President and Leader of Government Business in this regard is welcomed. The Minister should fully comprehend the limits of his powers, especially in relation to law-making, the role of the Cabinet, and that of the Leader of Government Business. Similarly, where necessary, clarification should also be provided to the Minister on the distinction between Private Members' Bills, to which a Member of the Executive is not entitled, and Bills piloted by the Executive.

The Speaker of the National Assembly is the leader of a separate arm of the State -the Legislature- which acts as the guardian of our democracy, stands firm against any attempts to undermine its authority and procedures. Cabinet members are expected to respect this role by ensuring that the authority of the Office of the Speaker is not undermined through frivolous challenges which disregard not only established protocols on engagement between the Speaker and the Executive but also the doctrine of separation of powers.

Ms Diko said: "For our part as the committee, the amendment of the SABC Bill will be among the first orders of business in the new year. While Minister Malatsi has raised some valid concerns regarding the powers to be accorded to the Minister to appoint board members of the proposed commercial subsidiary of the SABC, his other objection regarding the absence of a funding model in the current version of the Bill is unfounded, flimsy and inconsequential. We trust that when the Minister takes the opportunity to present the department's responses to the committee, he will also concede that, unless the SABC Bill is a Money Bill, Ministers cannot legislate a funding model from the fiscus. To this end, we urge the Minister to cease dillydallying on this point and to act with urgency in developing the funding model, which the SABC Bill provides a legislative framework for and which the SABC desperately needs."

She further noted and welcomed the invaluable inputs received from civil society organisations and other stakeholders, saying that their inputs will be thoroughly considered and addressed in the committee's deliberations and reflected in the final legislation presented to the National Assembly for consideration. Lastly,

Ms Diko said that the doors of the committee shall remain open for constructive engagement with the Minister.

Read the original article on Parliament of South Africa.

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